Explosion razes Essex home, sending man to the hospital

An explosion razed a home in suburban Baltimore, officials said, sending one person to the hospital for injuries and requiring aid from dozens of firefighters to douse the flames.

Baltimore County fire officials said they were called to the scene in the Essex community east of Baltimore just after 11 p.m. Saturday. There crews found the home engulfed by fire, WBAL-TV reported.

One man with burn injuries that were considered non-life threatening was taken to the hospital, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the person had been in the house or outside, fire Lt. Twana Allen said Sunday. Two other nearby homes received moderate damage stemming from the fire, which was extinguished by Sunday morning and still under investigation, Allen said.

Baltimore Gas and Electric, hazardous materials and fire investigators were at the scene.

“We’re going to make sure that everything is safe in the neighborhood,” Travis Francis, another county fire spokesperson, told the television station. “We don’t know what caused this so that’ll be looked into.”

Video posted by the department on a social media account showed smoke billing from the debris, with roof gables and siding on the ground.